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A^ISTTIQUIT 1 ES 



PAIiTALEON, GUATEMALA 



LIEUT. CHARLES E. VREBLAND, U. S. K, 



J. F. BRANSPOED, 

PASSED ASSISTANT SURGEON, U. S. N. 



FROM THE SMITPISONIAN REPOET FOR 1884. 



washingto:n; 

G-0'VESNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

3 885. 



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619 



A.NTIQUIT lES 

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PANTALEON, GUATEMALA 



LIEUT. CHAELES E. VREELAND, U. S. N., 



J. F. BEANSFORD, 

PASSED ASSISTANT SUKGEON, IT. S. N. 



FROM THE SMITHSONIAN REPORT FOR 1884, 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1885. 



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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2010 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/antiquitiesatpanOOvree 



PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. 
ANTIQUITIES AT PANTALEON, GUATEMALA. 

By Lieut. Charles E. Vreeland, U. S. N., 

and 

J. F, Bransford, Passed Assistant Surgeon, U. S. N. 

Some 28 miles from the Pacific, ou the railroad from San Jose to the 
city of Guatemala, the town of Escuintla is situated in a piedmont belt 
of extremely fertile land. In the same belt, about 30 miles from Es- 
cuintla in a northwesterly direction, is the magnificent estate of Panta- 
leon, within one league of Santa Lucia. 

This neighborhood was brought to the attention of archaeologists a 
few years ago by the discovery of the very interesting antiquities at 
Santa Lucia which were studied and drawn by Dr. Habel, who wrote 
a paper for publication by the Smithsonian Institution. Several of the 
finest of these specimens were removed to Berlin, where an account of 
them was published by Professor Bastian. 

The result of the interest thus awakened was the further discovery 
of great numbers of relics of the old inhabitants in that vicinity. 

In 1882 Dr. Bransford visited this locality in the interest of the Smith- 
sonian Institution, and saw some most interesting figures at Pantaleon, 
a slight account of which he furnished for the Smithsonian Eeport of 
1882. 

At the request of Professor Baird, the United States steamer Hart- 
ford stopped at San Jose, July 31, 1884, and we were allowed to visit 
Pantaleon for the purpose of photographing the antiquities. The super- 
intendent of the estate, Don Miguel Garcia Salas, informed us that 
the objects had never been photographed, but drawings had been made 
and photographs taken from them at Guatemala. 

The objects were all of black basalt or hard lava. N^os. II, III, IV, 
and V, the small heads in Fig. 1, were mounted on a low wall around 
the fountain in the court-yard. Just to the rear and center of these 

39 



PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. 




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Pig. 1.— Group of sculptures at P.intaleon, Guatemala. 



ANTIQUITIES AT PANTALEON, GUATEMALA. 



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Fig. 2. — Sculpture from San Juan, near Pantaleon, G-uatemala. 



42 



PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. 




Fig. 3.— Quarter view of Fig. 2, San Juan, near Pantaleon. 



ANTIQUITIES AT PANTi\LEON, GUATEMALA. 



43 



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J^IG. 4.— SiJa view of Fij,'. 2, San Juan, near Pantaleon. 



44 PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. 

■was the grand figure, No. I (Fig. 2), on a pedestal, while No. VI was 
.fixed in the wall of the court, behlud No. I. Originally there projected 
"from the lower back part of each head a sort of tenon, which was proba- 
l)ly inserted into a wall supporting tbe figure. Th's projection is par- 
tially shown in Figs. 7 and 9. 

Far the finest of these objects in size and workmanship was No. I, 
;shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. This was found in a low mound on a hill in 
ithe hacienda San Juan, about 7 miles northwest of Pantaleon. Seiior 
iSalas informed us that a sculpture similar in size and design, but not 
in such good condition, was left at the mound. The figure was in high 
]relief, fronting a tablet 50 inches high, 43 wide, and 9 in thickness. A 
ccrest rose 17 inches from the ujiper edge of the tablet, making the total 
'height of the object G7 inches. It was in a state of excellent preserva- 
tion, the only serious defect being the loss of the greater portion of 
the nose. The quiet strength and simplicity of the face is something 
jiew in the art of the ancient Americans., it was well formed, the lines 
simple and clear cut, and without a shadow of the conventional. Maj- 
esty was so plainly stamped on the countenance that it was known by the 
Indians as El Eey — The King. The brow, the eyes, and the nose, as far 
as could be judged, were in good shape and proportion. The mouth 
^was hard and tlie chin firm and full of character. 

On the head was a turban with a banded edge, coming well down on 
the brow. On the front of the turban an elaborate arrangement of 
Illumes was secured by a double band, knotted in front. Lying on its 
left side, supported by the baud, was a mask of a human face nearly 
half the size of that of El Eey. This mask, the ear-rings, and the gor- 
get suspended by the necklace were probably chalchihuitls, as we may 
well imagine that a man of his consequence would naturally choose the 
favorite green stone wherewith to adorn his person. As a background 
for the mask was apparently a broad leaf — it was too broad to have been 
a feather — supported in turn by two others of similar design. These 
may have been beaten gold, worked into the form of broad leaves or 
2)lumes. Behind these and mounting well above, on each side, were long 
plumes. If the last were furnished by that royal bird the quetzal, onr 
>cazique surely rejoiced in a head dress which in gorgeous brilliancy left 
nothing to be desired. 

From the lower edge of the turban, behind the ears, depended braided 
folds, as of cloth, which muigled with the banded ornamentation on the 
chest. From the lobe of each ear was suspended a medallion-shaped 
object, and a larger gorget was supported by the necklace. Around 
ithe neck and upper chest other circular ornaments were apparently fast- 
ened to the dress. 

The tablet had ornamented bands and lines near the sides, but there 
'was no appearance of hieroglyphs. From the upper margin arose a 
.•sort of crest, which curved over to the front and ended in a tasseled 
arrangement pendent above the head. The appearance of the tablet 



ANTIQUITIKS AT PANTALEON, GUATEMALA. 45 

and crest sngg'ested the back of a chair of state. On tlio rear surface 
a fresh cut nearly 3 feet square showed where the tenon had been re- 
moved. 

The head I^o. II, Fig. 5, was tliat of an old person, whose venerable 
appearance was heightened by the deep lines on brow and cheek. linearly 
the whole of the ear was taken up by the cylindrical ornaments. The 
head-dress ended below in a fluted band, above which, in front, was 
the body of a bird. The tail and most of the body of the bird had been 
broken away, but the outstretched wings remained to give evidence of 
the nature of the cap. 








Fig. 5. — Sculpture from Paiitaleou, Guatemala. 

The extreme height of No. IT was 21 inches. IsTo. Ill, Figs. 6 and 7, 
■was another head of an old person, but instead of the calmness of the 
preceding face there was depicted the inexpressible sadness of age 
with blindness. Both* eyes were represented as hanging from the sock- 
ets, the balls resting on the cheeks. The chin and lower lip protruded, 
the upper lip fallen in as from loss of teeth. To the long ears were 
aptpended large, pear shaped ornaments. The head-dress was arranged 
in braided folds, turban like, with a little Tarn O'Shauter cap on top. 



46 PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. 

This specimen was 18J inches high. 



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Pig. 6. — Sculpture fidiii i'aiitale(i]i, Guatemala. 



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Fici. 7.— Sido view of l'"iy. 0, Pautalc^.u. 



ANTIQUITIES OF PANTALEON, GUATEMALA. 



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48 PAPERS EELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. 




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Fig. 10. — Sculpture from Guatemala, quarter view of Fig. 8. 

Figs. 8, 9, and 10, full, three-quarter, and side views of the head No. 
lY, show what was probably the most strongly characteristic face of the 
lot. The prominent brow and cheek-bones, aquiline nose, and well-formed 
chin were here given their full eifect, as in this one iigure the nose was 
complete. The right eye was hanging from its orbit -, around the mouth 
and eyes were few but deej) wrinkles^ and between the eyes the skin 
was drawn into two heavy i^erpendicular folds, giving an expression of 
agonizing pain. 

The few simple lines by which this effect was produced showed in the 
artist real strength, far removed from the elaborate but fantastic style 
of conventional Copau. 

The long ears were probably exaggerated in size by the heavy orna- 
ments in the lower lobes. The head-dress was arranged in folds, and 
secured by a band, marked with longitudinal and transverse lines, which 
passed behind the ears and under the chin, well back against the 
throat. On the upper left side was an elaborate bow, on which was a 
circular ornament with graven outlines of eyes, nose, and mouth. On 
top and a little to the left side of the head a small cap was jauntily 
placed. The cap was one feature in the tout ensemble which gave this 
more the look of a woman's head. 

The height was 23 inches. 



ANTIQUITIES AT PANTALEON, GUATEMALA. 



49 



The object of the sculptor in portraying these eyes as hanging from 
their sockets is rather puzzling. It has been suggested that tearing 
out the eyes was a mode of punishment among the ancients. But it re- 
quired long time and much labor to carve one of these heads in hard 
stone, with the tools at their couimand, and it does not seem likely that 
such honor would have been shown to criminals. Don Manuel Herrera 
thought that the fact that eye complaints were prevalent in that sec- 
tion should be considered in the study of this subject. It seems as 
likely as not that these were representations of individuals whose mis- 
fortune was depicted in the sculptures, the artist adopting this mode 
of indicating blindness. 



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ITiG. 11.— Sculpture from Pantaleon, Guatemala. 

In No. Y, Fig. 11, we again had the head of an old man. 

There were wrinkles on the venerable face around the mouth and 
eyes and particularly strong on the brow. The suiiraorbital region 
and cheek-bones were prominent, the mouth firm, and the large nose 
was aquiline in form. The tip of the nose was broken. 

In front and on top of the turban-like arrangement on the head a 
broad sash or band was tied in a double bow-knot, the ends widening 
and falling behind and to the lower edge of the ear on each side. The 



50 PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. 

little cap on the vertex was pretty well demolished. The beard-like ar- 
rangement on the chin may have been intended to represent a chin-strap 
as it passed up behind the ear-rings, and was apparently continuous with 
the head-dress. 

This is one of the most striking of the faces, and in a general collec- 
tion would suggest the patriarch of Western Asia. Its height was 21 
inches. 



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Fig. 12. — Sculpture from Pantaleon, Guatemala. 



Fixed into the wall of the court, behind El Eey, was ISTo.YI, shown in 
Eig. 12, It was the roughest of the specimens, and without peculiar 
features. The ear-rings were large, and on the cap a broken surface 
showed where was probably a knot, as on ISTo. IV. 

Lying in the court-yard was a rough representation of the head of a' 
wild-cat, and a skull somewhat similar to those in Habel's drawings 
from Santa Lucia and others at Copan. 

These figures in simplicity and strength differ from all specimens of 
ancient American sculpture we have seen pictured or described. They 
stand as far apart from the grim statues of Nicaragua as from the fan- 
tastic and hieroglyph-covered moiioliths of Copan, and surely deserve 
the careful consideration of American archtisologists. 



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